Trump to leave 200 troops in Syria after speaking with Turkey's Erdogan

The United States will leave around 200 troops in Syria for a period of time, the White House has announced, as President Donald Trump pulled back from a complete withdrawal of forces.

"A small peacekeeping group of about 200 will remain in Syria for a period of time", White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanderssaid in a statement after the call between the two leaders.

Following the White House's announcement, however, he lauded Trump's decision to leave some USA forces in Syria "as part of an global stabilizing force".

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, speaking at the Munich Security Conference last week, said the top USA general would ask allies to contribute forces to help stabilize areas liberated from Islamic State.

France and Britain, which also have troops in Syria, rebuffed a USA request to leave forces there to continue operations against militant remnants and to patrol a "safe zone" along Syria's northeastern border with Turkey unless some U.S. troops remained.

Erdogan previously said that uncertainty remained over the US withdrawal from Syria, adding there was the talk of the pullout taking place in April or May.

Turkey considers the Kurdish group terrorists, allied with Kurdish militants in that country, and has said it would attack them as soon as the Americans left. It also prompted the resignation of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and drew criticism in Congress. Sen.

Mr. Trump declared the defeat of ISIS in a tweet in December. Jack Reed, a Rhode Island Democrat, called the decision a "betrayal of our Kurdish partners".

The US is to leave a "peacekeeping group" of 200 troops behind in Syria.

Many believe the IS threat won't end with the pocket's recapture and an insurgency is underway. The conflict has left more than 350,000 people dead, devastated cities and drawn in other countries.

America's Kurdish allies in Syria are concerned they would face Turkey's wrath following a US withdrawal. Arguing that ISIS had been defeated-even though well-publicized USA -supported combat operations against the group's remaining fighters were, and still are, ongoing-the president argued that the 2,000 Americans in Syria were no longer required. Troops work mostly out of small camps in remote parts of the country's northeast.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet made public, said that the 200 would be "split down the middle" between Syrian Kurdish-controlled areas in the northeast of the country, and the Tanf garrison in southeast Syria. Al-Tanf is on a vital road linking Iranian-backed forces from Tehran all the way to southern Lebanon - and Israel's doorstep.

A White House statement said the two leaders agreed, regarding Syria, to "continue coordinating on the creation of a potential safe zone".

In this file photo taken on January 1, 2019 acting US Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan arrives for his first day in his new job at the Pentagon in Washington, DC.

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